India was struck by two tragedies in the past month. The first was the heart-breaking train accident in Odisha. The worst such accident in many years, which claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent passengers and injured hundreds more. The second tragedy is the violence that is tearing apart Manipuri society. Many have already died, no one can say with certainty what the death toll is. Thousands have been evicted from their home and have become refugee in their own country. The fabric of harmony needed to keep a society peaceful and prosperous, has been shredded. This tragedy is unfortunately still unfolding with no end.

The truly heart-breaking aspect of both incidents is that they were avoidable. They were the products of the Modi Government’s misplaced priorities. Modi Ji is interested only in work that allows him to make grand announcements and cut ribbons while pleasing the powerful. He has no interest in the non-glamorous hard-work that is actually needed to build the Nation and benefit its poorest people. It is for this reason, that Modi ji has ignored the safety measures needed to protect crores of poor travellers who rely on the railways. He, instead, chooses to focus on a Bullet train that will connect just 2 cities and be affordable only to his richest friends.

Very similarly, the Manipur situation should have been handled swiftly and firmly. Instead, Modi Ji has been busy with campaigning, publicity events and foreign trips. As a result, the ‘double engine sarkar’ failed to stop the miscreants who torched houses, murdered citizens and drove people out of their homes. Even today, over 6 weeks since the start of the violence, the State and the Central Governments have failed to restore order in Manipur. Modi Ji is now going on a trip to the United States but he has no time to visit the suffering people of Manipur.

These tragedies are no natural - they did not need to happen. Any responsible Government working for the interest of its people would have prevented or at least limited the impact of these events. The Modi Government, however, has no time from its own propaganda and agendas to pay heed to our people. There is no doubt that the people will teach Modi Ji a lesson very soon. Congress Sandesh and the entire Congress family stands in solidarity with the victims of these tragedies and all those who are suffering because of the misdeeds of the Modi regime.

Jai Congress. Jai Hind. Jai Jagat.